Homeland Security Officials: Immigration Bill Would Make Border More Secure

WASHINGTON (May 7, 2013)--The U.S.-Mexico border is more secure than ever, but a new bipartisan immigration bill would help them make it even stronger, Department of Homeland Security officials said Tuesday.

Testifying Tuesday before the U.S. Senate's Homeland Security committee, agency leaders praised the pending legislation for directing more resources to the agency for surveillance equipment and for authorizing 3,500 new Border Patrol officers.

The committee chairman, Democrat Tom Carper of Delaware, said that the bill's goal of achieving 100 percent surveillance of the southwest border would be challenging and costly to achieve, but not impossible.

The panel's top Republican, Tom Coburn of Oklahoma, said, however, that the border today is not secure and voiced concerns about the ability of immigration and security officials to carry out the additional responsibilities imposed by the bill.

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